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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24393904">Expertise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Genius Varian (Disney), Mentions of a slave trade</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:20:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,166</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24393904</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Nigel.” King Fredrick made eye contact with his daughter’s shining green eyes before looking away swiftly. “Send summons to Varian Son of Quirin. Do not tell him why. We cannot let this out of the room.” Nigel bowed before leaving the room quietly. Arianna shifted slightly in her seat, her brow furrowing with concern.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Queen Arianna of Corona/King Frederic of Corona (Disney)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>104</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Expertise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Rapunzel paused outside the door. Her hand was poised to knock but she held back, curling her knuckles in and dropping her hand back to her side. Cassandra nudged her side in question. Rapunzel took a deep breath in and exhaled it slowly. She knocked firmly twice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Enter.” Rapunzel’s father’s voice called, slightly strained. Cassandra opened the door swiftly, standing aside to let the Princess in first. Rapunzel strode into the strategy room with her chin held high. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, now that everyone is here, let’s begin.” King Fredrick straightened, clasping his hands in front of his stomach. “Captain, if you please.” Eugene nodded before spreading down a large map. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Bangdor is getting more ambitious. They’re bringing them in by carriage now. Their slave trade is definitly growing. It’s only a matter of time until it becomes too big for Equis to ignore.” Eugene placed wooden carriages along the map.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t wait anymore! These are women and children being taken from their homes! We cannot allow this to continue any longer!” Rapunzel slammed her hands down onto the table. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Daughter please.” Fredrick held out a hand to calm the princess down. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad, these are real people! Living in the tower for the first eighteen years of my life was a prison that I wasn’t aware of! I will not let anyone else go through the same thing.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not disagreeing with you, Rapunzel. I’m only saying that we must keep a level head for the victims. We must be collected to be able to help anyone. We take down this slave trade sooner rather than later but we must stay patient so it will not arise again.” Rapunzel allowed herself to be guided back into her chair. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I concur. I’m afraid I’ve never taken down an operation of this size before. I don’t know where we would start.” Eugene picked up a wooden soldier with a frown. “We need a strategist able to play the long game.” Rapunzel matched her fiance’s frown. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I would love to be the solution here,” Cassandra spoke, “But I wasn’t a guard for long. I came here as soon as I could so I have no idea how we would be able to hit Okai where it hurts. We need someone who knows how to play dirty as well.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A strategist who is willing to do whatever it takes is very hard to come by. Especially here in Corona. We are a seafaring kingdom, isolated without the need for war of any kind.” King Fredrick placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders. Eugene froze before clearing his throat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I have a suggestion.” Eugene wrung his hands together. “We do have someone who had brought a kingdom to its knees before.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Absolutely not. We don’t need to put him through that again!” Rapunzel protested, feeling slightly weak at the thought.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think we have a choice, Raps.” Cass said, keeping her voice soft.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nigel.” King Fredrick made eye contact with his daughter’s shining green eyes before looking away swiftly. “Send summons to Varian Son of Quirin. Do not tell him why. We cannot let this out of the room.” Nigel bowed before leaving the room quietly. Arianna shifted slightly in her seat, her brow furrowing with concern.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---------------</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cass stood next to Eugene, watching the man write a plan out before swiftly discarding it. The pile of failed plans grew behind him as he dropped his head into his hands. Rapunzel made eye contact with her mother, offering a reassuring smile before Nigel entered the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your majesties, Varian of Old Corona has arrived.” Nigel bowed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let him in please.” Fredrick waved his hand as Nigel ushered the boy in. Varian entered, looking slightly nervous but he held his posture up, even with Ruddiger draped across his shoulders. He bowed slightly, ducking his head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, your majesties. You summoned me?” Varian asked, fiddling with his gloves. He wore a dark green vest with golden highlights over a white undershirt. Very proper clothes that Rapunzel couldn’t recall ever seeing the alchemist in. She resisted the urge to sweep Varian up in a bare hug. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Varian,” The king started, blinking rapidly as the raccoon crawled down to the floor to converse with Pascal who rested on Rapunzel’s chair. “We have called you here because we need your expertise.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My alchemy?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your intelligence.” Fredrick clarified. Varian frowned slightly, before schooling his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“In what regards, sir?” Varian glanced at the table with a single raised eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What am I about to tell you cannot leave this room. Do you understand Quirinson?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, your majesty.” Varian ducked his head, meeting the king’s gaze solidly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need your experience in um, questionable methods.” Eugene cut in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“When I committed treason sir?” Varian’s face darkened briefly. Fredrick cleared his throat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.” Varian started at the king’s answer. “The kingdom of Bangdor has been conducting a slave trade under our very noses, stealing people from their homes without abandon.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why have I not heard of this prior? I live in the outskirts of Corona, and I’ve never come across any reports.” Varian asked, leaning forward to study the map stretched across the table. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They haven’t hit Corona yet, they know we’d take immediate action. The trade has been mainly based in Equis.” Eugene scowled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Equis? King Trevor?” Varian glanced towards the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Has been content to ignore the plights of his people.” Rapunzel answered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds familiar.” Varian remarked. Fredrick clenched his fists at his sides. “So you want to conduct this takedown without Trevor figuring out it was us?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Preferably yes. Is that doable?” Varian picked up a small wooden carriage, turning it over in his hands.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’ll be very difficult.” Varian ignored Cassandra’s growl. “I don’t know Equis as well as I do Corona. I may need time to familiarize myself with both kingdoms.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How much time?” The king asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe six weeks.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s impossible. We need thi-” Varian cut the king off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanted me to take down a very complicated operation without preparation? I had my whole life to study Corona. I had as much time as I needed to plan my attack. There was no rush for me to enact my revenge in a certain time frame. I took months to come up with a basic plan, and it took several weeks to figure out all the details.” Varian let out a sigh. “You wanted my expertise? Here it is. I need time to do this the way you want me to. I know the people are suffering but we also need to figure out what we’re going to do with all the captured people.” Varian glanced around at their blank faces. “You have been thinking about the people who have already been taken, right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well-” The king started. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So that’s a no then. Okay. Let’s get started, shall we?” Varian plucked the quill from EUgene’s hand, tucking it behind his ear. He led the group to the library to start their research.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have no idea what this really is. I don't really like how it came out but I need this out of my drafts.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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